In an interview granted to VOV on September 19, lawyer Phung Tue Chau, a Vietnamese Catholic residing in California, in the US, who has just returned to Vietnam, affirmed that France handed over sovereignty to the Vietnamese State after its defeat in 1954. This means the piece of land at 174 Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Hanoi, which France presented to Thai Ha parish, belongs to the Vietnamese State. Similarly, the piece of land at 42 Nha Chung Street is no exception.

Despite this historical fact, Hanoi diocese denied and distorted the legality of the State’s documents on land management. It sent an urgent petition to Catholics in Hanoi and other localities in an attempt to incite them to carry out law-breaking activities against the administration. In addition, the diocese is seeking ways and means to politicise the land dispute case at 42 Nha Chung Street.

There is no doubt that Ngo Quang Kiet is the key figure behind these activities. Without his instructions, Hanoi diocese and the other bishops could not have carried out such illegal activities.

Ten months after the social disorder case at 42 Nha Chung Street, Hanoi diocese has tried to politicise it by making the situation more complicated to undermine the Party and the State’s policies on religion and belief. It has insisted on bringing the case to an international tribunal.

Hanoi diocese is a religious organisation and Ngo Quang Kiet is an individual member of this organisation. The State, which represents its people’s land ownership, and the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee, functioning as part of the State apparatus, do not cause disputes with any organisations and individuals. Some speculate that Ngo Quang Kiet, due to his appeal, could internationalise the case by persuading overseas forces to bring pressure to bear upon the State to meet the diocese’s unjustifiable demands. Certainly, no outside individuals or forces can make such demands on a sovereign and self-determined nation like Vietnam.

Contrary to Hanoi diocese’s slanderous allegations, the US Department of State on September 20 released its 2008 report on international religious freedom which affirms that Vietnam has continued to “experience improvements” in religious practices. It says the Vietnamese State has created favourable conditions for religions to develop by building many places of worship, recognising additional religious sects and licensing 4 Protestant groups.

Hanoi diocese and Ngo Quang Kiet himself would have received more favourable conditions to operate if they had come up with unbiased and correct views on the country’s religious freedom. Regrettably, Kiet has denied its existence, saying that he feels ashamed of holding a Vietnamese passport every time he goes abroad.